“What the [insert preferred word] are you doing with my Apple Pencil?”
Before I got an iPad, I never expected to say that in my life.
I’ve never said this out loud, but it has definitely been a thought in my head on more than a few occasions.
For whatever reason, non-iPad users seem to love the Apple Pencil (sometimes a little too much).
Given that you spent $100+ on your Apple Pencil, you should give it some love too. Here are eight productivity-boosting Apple Pencil tricks that’ll make you love your extremely fancy stylus.
Note: This list is ordered by familiarity (I think, at least), with the most well-known tips at the top and the least well-known tips at the bottom.
Double Tap
Discovering double tap is an Apple Pencil user’s first step. Customizing it is their first word.
To activate double tap, make sure the feature is turned on (Settings > Apple Pencil > Double Tap) and double tap the lower section of your Apple Pencil.
Assuming you’re in Apple Notes or a similar app, you should see a change in the selected drawing tool.
With the double tap feature, users have four customization options:
Switch Between Current Tool and Eraser
Switch Between Current Tool and Last Used
Show Color Palette
Off
The option you choose depends on your use case for the Apple Pencil. From my experience, the first option is usually the most useful for me.
Battery Tracking
To track the battery of your Apple Pencil, the easiest way would probably be to use a widget.
This makes it easy to see how much battery you have as soon as you open up your iPad.
This battery widget is also useful for tracking the battery life of other devices, like wireless headphones.
Screenshot
Taking a screenshot on an iPad is already extremely easy - just press the top button and a volume button at the same time.
With an Apple Pencil, you can do this even faster.
By default (I think), swiping from the bottom left corner of your iPad with an Apple Pencil will take a screenshot.
In Settings (Settings > Apple Pencil > Pencil Gestures), you can customize the “screenshot corner” to be the bottom left corner, bottom right corner, neither, or both.
Quick Notes
The action for opening a Quick Note is almost the exact same as the action for taking a screenshot.
By default (I think), swiping from the bottom right corner will open up a Quick Note.
Like with a screenshot, the “Quick Note corner” can be the bottom left corner, bottom right corner, neither, or both.
Quick note (pun somewhat intended) - If you want to learn more about Quick Notes, you can check out one of my earlier posts about the useful feature here.
Scribble
Scribble is an Apple Pencil feature where you can convert handwriting into text.
By default Scribble is enabled, but you can turn it off in Settings (Settings > Apple Pencil).
To use Scribble, tap or write over a text entry area like a text box in Pages, the search bar in Safari, or Spotlight Search.
Here are some other actions you can do with Scribble (straight from Apple’s website):
To delete a word, scratch it out.
To insert text between words, tap and hold in a text area, then start writing when a space opens.
To join or separate characters, draw a vertical line between them.
To select text, circle it or draw a line through it. Drag the selection handles to change the selection.
Copy As Text
This was a genuinely new feature to me - I had no clue this existed (these last 3 tips are all features I’ve never heard of).
Here’s how you do it:
First, write something with your Apple Pencil.
Using the selection tool, select the drawing. Tap on it, and then tap on “Copy as Text.”
Finally, paste the text wherever you want.
Here’s a picture to help you out:
Three-Finger Swipe
Another feature I didn’t know existed: swiping with three fingers can undo and redo a drawing.
Swiping with three fingers to the left is the equivalent of undo while swiping with three fingers to the right is the equivalent of redo.
Actionable Handwriting
This is similar to the “Copy as Text” feature - it takes handwritten text and converts it into “actionable text.”
For instance, handwriting an email address and tapping on it will open up an email to that address. Writing a phone number and tapping on it gives you a list of contact options.
Or, as you can see in the example below, tapping on a date and time creates an event/reminder:
Final Thoughts
If you’re interested in learning more about these tips or seeing a video version of this info, check out the sources of information for this post:
Top 10 VERY Useful Apple Pencil Tips & Tricks by Byte Review
Incredibly Useful Apple Pencil Tips and Tricks | 2022 by Tech Gear Talk
13 super useful iPad & Apple Pencil tips and tricks! by Janice Studies
Thanks for reading!
Adi